PICK OF DIGITAL & ON DEMAND TV
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, 9PM, SKY COMEDY
FOR years, Larry David had a standing agreement with HBO that he’d make new series of his great comedy of embarrassment when he’s good and ready. The Seinfeld co-creator is one of the few comic talents who can write his own ticket in that regard and, while he’s called time on this show on more than one occasion, for this 12th series, Larry apparently means it. ‘I’ll now have the opportunity to finally shed this “Larry David” persona and become the person God intended me to be — the thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate human being I was until I got derailed by portraying this malignant character.’ Series 12 opens with Larry (pictured) riding the fame of the Young Larry show, the breakout star of which is a smug rising actress who seems tailor-made to irritate him. Irritations are what Curb is all about, of course, and the first episode is full of those, from an incident with a pair of glasses to some bad behaviour at a party. It’s all vintage Curb material and, even if it does at times feel almost like a parody of itself, it’s still hilarious.
ARMS RACE A Cold War Of Spies, 7.35pm, PBS America
A NEW, daily, four-part series about the competitive espionage that accompanied such atomic research efforts as the Manhattan Project. It’s a rich story and is told with detail and pace here.
MODERN FAMILIES Katherine Ryan: Parental Guidance, 9pm, W
WE ARE used to seeing Katherine Ryan (pictured) as a comedian on TV, but Katherine Ryan the parent — without a punchline or a sly
observation waiting in the wings — is a much less familiar sight. It proves to be a welcome change of gear in this engaging four-parter about the tough choices of parenting, a show that feels a little like an audition for the Canadian stand-up to pursue a second career in documentaries. If it is, she’s passed. Ryan is on understated and even occasionally under-made-up form here, showing a vulnerable side as she looks at how to raise her family of three (one teenager, one toddler, one baby) by meeting families who take a different approach to raising children.
BACK OF BEYOND Outback Farm, 9pm, Quest
FOR this new real-life series narrated by Jason Donovan, the nomadic Anthony and Danyelle Haigh (from Outback Truckers) have opted for a more settled existence with their two young sons, Heath and Theo, on a 5,000-acre desert farm. It’s not an easy life . . .